We use cookies and similar technologies on our websites and mobile applications to help provide you with the best possible online experience. By using our sites and apps, you agree that we may store and access cookies and similar technologies on your device.

Student Living Index 2019

Discover more about becoming a student

Don’t know what to expect from university? Maybe you haven’t decided where you want to go yet? The Student Living Index can help you make a decision.

Picking the right university

Research is key

It’s hard to predict what your student experience will be like; reading a prospectus and looking at online photos of the campus will only tell you so much. You need the insider knowledge, and that’s where the Royal Bank of Scotland Student Living Index comes in. This year’s survey includes several new areas, including sustainability on campus and the level of mental health support available.

Work out the costs

This is the sixth consecutive Student Living Index and it’s our biggest yet! We asked a record 3,604 students across 35 university cities how much they spend on food, rent, and social expenses. The results help to shed a light on what it is truly like to be a university student in 2019.

Which UK city is most affordable* for students?

Cardiff overtakes Hull (2018) to become the most cost-effective city for students.

Pick from the drop-down to see the rankings (overall UK ranking in brackets)

Cardiff (1st)

Bristol (2nd)

Leicester (3rd)

Southampton (4th)

Manchester (5th)

Norwich (6th)

Sheffield (7th)

Exeter (8th)

Portsmouth (9th)

Belfast (10th)

Bristol (2nd)

Leicester (3rd)

Southampton (4th)

Manchester (5th)

Norwich (6th)

Sheffield (7th)

Exeter (8th)

Portsmouth (9th)

Coventry (12th)

Cambridge (15th)

Newcastle (16th)

Durham (17th)

York (18th)

Oxford (19th)

Canterbury (20th)

Nottingham (21st)

Liverpool (22nd)

Poole (23rd)

Birmingham (24th)

Plymouth (25th)

Hull (26th)

Leeds (28th)

Brighton (30th)

Reading (32nd)

London (35th)

St. Andrews (13th)

Aberdeen (14th)

Dundee (27th)

Stirling (29th)

Glasgow (31st)

Edinburgh (34th)

Cardiff (1st)

Swansea (11th)

Aberystwyth (33rd)

Belfast (10th)

*Affordability is calculated by dividing students’ average monthly accommodation, activities and item costs by their average monthly income.

Find out the cost of living for students in the UK

Which city offers the cheapest night out? Which students are having to work part-time to pay the bills? Find out more about student spending habits in some of the most popular university cities across the UK.

Income

When it comes to their income, students are relying on the Bank of Mum and Dad to make ends meet. Parents are topping up student income by an average of £222 each month. But with almost half (43%) of students saying they run out of money before the semester is over, it’s no surprise they turn to parents and a part-time job for an income boost.

Income in more detail

Students in Cardiff get the best value for their money in 2019. They receive the third highest monthly income of £1,321.80, while enjoying the third lowest monthly rent, at £375.40, and low monthly living costs of £359.70.

The students most likely to experience financial hardships are in London. The average monthly rent in London exceeds the national average by 44%, at £700 per month. Combined with living costs of £536.30 and an average term-time income of £1,197.20, this makes London the city with the worst value for money in 2019.

Students of St. Andrews have the highest term-time income in Scotland, at £1,149.70.

Term-time income has decreased in Hull and London, by £400 and £200 respectively. Despite this, average student rent has risen 5-15% in all South East student cities and London since last year.

Spending in more detail

Compared to 2018, students are spending an average of £15 less per month on their household bills, and there’s also been a decline in alcohol spend.*

A pint in Stirling is half the price of a pint in Glasgow (£2.60) – in fact, Stirling has the cheapest price for a pint in the UK, where students expect to pay £1.30.

Aberystwyth students move past Newcastle and Northumbria to become the biggest spenders on alcohol, forking out £50.80 per month. Students living in Glasgow are spending the most on alcohol of all Scottish cities, where they spend an average of £30.80 per month.

Manchester remains the number one city for spend on fashion, with students there spending almost four times as much on fashion and clothing as those in Aberystwyth - £54.40 per month compared with £15.70.

Students in Liverpool spend the most on a night out, with 22% having spent over £30 last time they went out. Edinburgh is the most expensive Scottish city for going out, where students are spending £28.60 per month.

Students living in St Andrews spend the least on household bills, with an average monthly cost of £15.70, less than a third of what students in Hull are spending (£55.30).

64% of all UK students do not spend any of their income on academic studies.

Budgeting

When it came to budgeting, 6% of students said that they don’t consider what they’re spending at all, while 42% of students say that they don’t use any budgeting methods for money management. One third of students turn to an overdraft to supplement income when they overspend.

Budgeting in more detail

Of the 64% of students that stick to a budget, 20% rely on a trusty Excel spreadsheet to keep track of their spending.

Of the students who are able to put a little aside each month, 47% of student savers transfer any remaining money into a separate account, while only 9% use a tool or money saving app. A total of 32% don’t save anything.

Students in London and Aberdeen manage to save the most, at £133.10 and £130.60 respectively. That’s over twice as much as students in Swansea (£53.10) and St Andrews (£44.80).

Students in Aberdeen receive the best money management support from their university (11% of students). However, they still rank in the top four for students most stressed about managing their money (30% of students).

41% of all students don’t receive any type of student discount from their university.

Studying vs. socialising

Time spent studying has decreased in 2019, but students are still feeling the stress of university. The social aspect is also as important as ever, with only 10% of students spending no money on socialising.

Studying vs. socialising in more detail

Oxbridge residents have topped the time spent on academic studies for the third year in a row. Students in Oxford also spend the most time socialising, spending 42 hours per month socialising and 119.9 hours per month studying.

Students in St Andrews and Dundee came in the top five when it comes to hours spent studying, with students studying for an average of 99.8 and 90.7 hours a month respectively.

Students living in Stirling are the most social in Scotland, with students socialising for an average of 37.8 hours per month.

The average student spends 81 hours a month studying and 28 hours a month socialising. This is a 9 hour decrease in time spent studying and a 2 hour decrease in time spent socialising since 2018.

45% of students find their studies stressful, but 41% of students say they enjoy studying for their degree.

Part-time Employment

Students are spending almost 10 hours per month less on academic studies than they did in 2018. Students are also spending three times the amount of time on unpaid work experience. An average UK student will get more money from their family each month than they do from part-time employment.

Part-time employment in more detail

Students in Stirling spend the most hours working a part-time job, while students in Durham spend the least at 27.3 hours and 6 hours per month respectively.

Manchester offers the highest earnings from term-time work, where students are making an average of £167.70 per month. Reading offers the lowest earning potential with students only taking home £40.00 a month from term-time employment.

For the second year in a row, Scotland features heavily in part-time hours worked, with three Scottish cities featuring in the top five (Stirling, Edinburgh, Aberdeen). This isn’t reflected in term-time money earned, with only one Scottish city featuring in the top five (Aberdeen -£157.60 per month).

Mental health & wellbeing

Mental health & wellbeing in more detail

When asked on a scale of 1 to 10, St Andrews has the highest number of students (47%) selecting 8, 9 or 10 when asked if they felt satisfied with their university’s mental health resources. Bristolranked in last place with 14% of students feeling satisfied with the resources on offer.

71% of UK students said their university offered affordable health and wellbeing programs. Thehighest number of respondents who agreed were in Aberystwyth, at 94%, then Stirling came in second at 90%, while Poole has the lowest at53%.

Students in Stirling and Aberdeen spend the most on fitness - three times more than in Belfast and Brighton.

More students are also reporting feeling stressed by the study requirements at university, with the average score on a scale of 1-10 moving from 6.9 in 2018 to 7 this year.

Promoting sustainability on campus

Young adults are more engaged than ever on issues of sustainability, so we wanted to find out how their universities compare. 1 in 5 respondents feel satisfied with their university’s commitment to promoting sustainability on campus.

Sustainability in more detail

Students in St Andrews reported the highest levels of satisfaction with 44% of students selecting on the higher end of the sustainability scale.

Durham had the lowest levels, with only 6% of students from the city feeling satisfied with on- campus sustainability promotion efforts.

Download the Student Living Index 2019

Are you currently attending university or still deciding where to go? Download the 2019 Student Living Index to find out which students are spending the most on their daily coffee, and which students are socialising the most.